Bangor - A Brewer woman charged in connection with a deadly hit-and-run in Bangor pleaded guilty Tuesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center. Patricia Giles, 52, is going to jail for 9 months as part of a plea deal.

In June, her car hit and killed Joshua Constantine, 37, of Bangor, as he was crossing Main Street. Giles took off, and turned herself over to police more than a week later.

In a plea agreement with the state, Giles pleaded guilty to leaving the scene and falsifying physical evidence, in exchange for a nine month jail sentence. For Constantine's friends, the punishment does not equal the lifetime they have lost with him.

"When you strike someone, when you leave them for dead, you lie about it and try to cover it up, this is not an indiscretion. This is cowardice," said a friend, who testified in court.

According to Giles' attorney, the state couldn't bring more severe charges against his client because there wasn't any proof she was reckless or criminally negligent at the time of the accident, which are qualifiers for a charge like manslaughter.

Defense attorney Zachary Brandmeir said, "There's really no evidence that there was any erratic maneuvers, any speeding, any swerving, any not paying attention or anything like that that led to the death."

When Giles is released from custody, she will be on probation for two years and prohibited from driving for six months.

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